Mental health hospital comes out of special measures

The CQC has taken Cheswold Park Hospital in Doncaster out of special measures following an inspection in May and June.

Cheswold Hospital (c) South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Cheswold Hospital (c) South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

The service, which was run by Riverside Healthcare Limited, was taken over by South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in October this year.

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘The CQC inspection relates to a time when Cheswold Park Hospital was run by Riverside Healthcare plc. Since the inspection took place South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has taken over management of the hospital. However, we will ensure that learning opportunities presented by the CQC inspection are followed through, and that we help the hospital move forward in its improvement journey.'

The hospital retained its previous rating of inadequate overall as not enough areas were looked at to change the rating. Safe and responsive went up from inadequate to requires improvement and caring, effective and well-led retained the previous ratings of inadequate.

Inspectors found:

  • people were regularly informed of their rights and had support from advocacy services
  • the hospital involved people to control potential risks within the ward environment
  • the service held monthly community meetings and ensured people had access to activities
  • profiles were available on wards about people for any bank or agency staff, so they knew what care to provide for everyone
  • families and carers were kept informed, knew who to speak to if they had concerns and were invited to relevant meetings about their loved ones
  • there were effective systems, policies and processes in place to ensure staff identified and reported concerns
  • people said they felt safe at the hospital and had areas to go if they needed some quiet time
  • people's leave from the hospital grounds was sometimes cancelled due to understaffing.

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